Nazi Bunkers in Antarctica
Alex Kirkpatrick
When thinking about Hitler and Nazi Germany most people can think of at least one conspiracy theory they have heard about. Two pretty common ones are the holocaust never happened or that Hitler is alive and well in Argentina. A third theory that is beginning to see some popularity among paranormal/conspiracy theorists is the idea that the Nazis took control of part of Antarctica and built underground bunkers where they would experiment with creating new technology (Soniak, 2012). This theory originates from a story about a Nazi expedition to Antarctica. The story says that while exploring and mapping the area, they uncovered a multitude of underground caves and rivers. One of the caves was particularly large and was turned into a large city that would be home to both Nazi’s and other powerful groups, like the illuminati. Along the way, the Germans either came across alien technology or made contact with the aliens. The Germans learned how to use the technology and were able to build a number of weapons (Soniak, 2012). This belief is extraordinary because there is no evidence that the Nazis ever did, or were even capable of building such base. Geologist and Oceanographer, Colin Summerhayes, partnered with journalist and historian, Peter Beeching, to examine evidence about Antarctica and the Nazis. The pair published a 21-page peer reviewed study about these mysterious Antarctic bases and if they are real or not.
In support of this claim is the fact that the Nazis did at one point carry out an expedition to Antarctica in 1938. Many conspiracy theorists claim that this was a large-scale expedition, with militarized and scientific ships. In reality, it was just one small ship with the goal of finding new territory where Germany could expand their whaling industry. There is also no mention of intent to establish a base in any Nazi documents, and after the start of WWII, the Nazis don’t return to Antarctica until 1959. The crew manning the ship also would have been nowhere near large enough to build a base the size of what is being claimed. (Soniak, 2012). Another bit of evidence for this theory is about the Nazi’s agreeing to The Antarctic treaty. The treaty makes Antarctica a research zone and states that Antarctica cannot be targeted in any way by bombs or missiles. Conspiracy theorists jump on this and say why would Nazi Germany sign this agreement? The claim is that they signed this agreement to deter other nations from visiting Antarctica and stumbling upon their base and the research being done there. There has been no evidence found to corroborate that point (McKendry, 2017). Additionally, some claim that Hitler himself is actually at Antarctica. The evidence for this idea is based on the claim that a German ship arrived at an Argentinian base located in Antarctica after the war ended. Another popular conspiracy theory is that Hitler escaped to Argentina at the end of the war, and so therefore he was picked up by a German ship, and sent to Antarctica to live at the secret bunker. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that Hitler ever made it to Argentina or that the supposed German boat ever went to Argentina’s Antarctic base (Barraclough, 2018).
So why do so many people believe this, despite the lack of evidence? One major reason is simply because it’s Antarctica. The hazardous conditions make Antarctica one of the last unexplored places on Earth. Because so little is known about the continent, this makes it a perfect breeding ground for conspiracy theories. So much of it remains unexplored and unknown, and it makes people think that anything could be there (Barraclough, 2018). Another contributor to this belief is that there have been some bizarre military activities that have occurred at Antarctica over the years, such as supposed German boats coming or the U.S. project “Operation Highjump”. These strange events, and the lack of information around them, often lead people to conclude that it must be because there is something going on there that the government doesn’t want us to know about. Rumors and speculation abound, and a conspiracy theory is born. In this case, people are simply misinformed and not looking at the evidence correctly. Today, much of the information concerning some of the military activities at Antarctica has been made public and now people can read up on the facts of some of these missions (Hanks, et. al, 2017). Many believers are also guilty of engaging in confirmation bias. A tenant of confirmation bias is that ambiguous evidence will be seen as supporting one’s theory. There are not many records surrounding the whaling expedition in 1938, so believers will look at this event and interpret the ambiguity of the evidence in such a way that it supports their theory.
Many of these believes actually come from Flat Earth. Flat Earther’s often propose that it is illegal to go to Antarctica and has a constant military presence, that’s why none of them can go investigate if the ice wall is out there. There is a subgroup of flat earth who believes that part of the reason you “can’t go” to Antarctica is because of the Nazi base there. Being a part of the flat earth community is what allows them to sustain their beliefs. They have a whole community to engage with and back them up in their beliefs.
The idea that the Nazis built a secret base at Antarctica is not based in evidence. To date, there has been nothing found to support it. Its believers are simply engaging in confirmation and are misinterpreting what they claim is their “evidence”. Most of the believers are also a part of the flat earth community, and this is what gives them the support to continue in their beliefs. This is just one of the conspiracy theories surrounding the mysterious continent of Antarctica, and like many of the other theories, it is a long way from being confirmed.
Barraclough, B. (2018, March 20). Nazis and pyramids: What’s really going on in Antarctica? Retrieved April 3, 2019, from https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2017/11/nazis-and-pyramids-what-s-really-going-on-in-antarctica.html
Hanks, M., Tingley, B., Schuemann, N. L., Seaburn, P., & Seaburn, P. (2017, March 20). Antarctica’s Secret Nazi Base: Separating the Fact from “Fake News”. Retrieved April 3, 2019, from https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2017/03/antarcticas-secret-nazi-base-separating-the-fact-from-fake-news/
McKendry, D. I. (2017, December 21). The Secret Nazi UFO Base Beneath Antarctica. Retrieved April 3, 2019, from http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2017/03/31/the-secret-nazi-ufo-base-beneath-antarctica/
Soniak, M. (2012, March 19). Hitler on Ice: Did the Nazis Have a Secret Antarctic Fortress? Retrieved April 3, 2019, from http://mentalfloss.com/article/30249/hitler-ice-did-nazis-have-secret-antarctic-fortress
I have never heard of this theory until now but the information you provided is quite interesting and startling. That being said, I took a history class where learned about how during/after world war II nazi’s were “prisoners of war” on US soil. However, their conditions were so accommodating and nice that a lot of them assimilated into US culture and made it their home (a wholeee other topic in itself). Anyway, I wondered if you came across any information on this that believers of the theory would link to, it was the first thing that came to mind while reading.
Hi, I actually did not come across any information about this. But if I had to guess, I would guess that a believer might explain this as the nazi’s came to the US to infiltrate it and take our ideas and spy on or something along those lines.
If this were indeed true, I wonder how a Nazi civilization would last so long undetected. I would also wonder how on earth a civilization could sustain itself in such frigid conditions with no way of growing food and nowhere to gather supplies. There would have to be an absurd amount of resources constantly being transporting to Antarctica in order for sustainment, and for this massive endeavor of transportation to go undetected for so long would be ludicrous.
*tansported
*transported
I had this same thought! It seems completely unreasonable that no boats or planes were seen going back and forth with supplies for them, but then again when youre dealing with the flat earth groups you have to keep in mind that things that seem completely unbelievable and unrealistic are their favorite!
I have never heard of this conspiracy theory and honestly whoever came up with it has a very creative mind. I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that people think a whole city could be thriving inside caves in Antarctica. It sounds like something from a movie. Is anyone thinking about the brutally cold weather? How would people survive in that? Also how do people think Hitler is in Antarctica? He would have to be 130 years old.
I’ve never heard of this theory either. The only theory I heard connected to Nazis was that the holocaust didn’t happen. I was surprising as I continued to read your blog the idea behind Antartica just became more bizarre and detailed. I can kind of see why people are inclined to believe that there might be something going on in Antartica because we have no civilization there and all info we receive is based on scientific discoveries. So people try to come up with these theories to in some sense make sense of the world around them. Since they have no knowledge of the place nor have the equipment to even visit or survive there. I found it interesting though that flat earthers are also involved in this but I think it kind of makes sense that they believe in this theory to be able to support their ice wall theory.
Hello!
This was a really interesting topic to chose for this blog post! I feel like there are a lot of conspiracy theories about people not really being dead and living in some secluded location. I have heard theories on Michael Jackson, Tupac, ect!! I find it interesting how many different extraordinary beliefs tied into this claim. The flat earth theory, and the idea of the illuminati all revolving around Antarctica. It does make sense with the ideas we have learned in class that people try and make sense out of what we do not know. Antarctica has such little information to regular people so it makes sense people could come up with ideas such as this! I find it interesting though, because if Nazis lived there as we speak, are they just a hate group choosing to live in a really cold climate? There is nothing they can do there that would reflect Holocaust actions, so I find this idea interesting.
Hi, Alex. One thing you mentioned that people would create some kind of conspiracy just because their lack of knowledge about it, really let me think about the whole mechanic of moral panic. Why unknown could be considered as equal to bad things? Just like Antarctica would be recognized as Nazi’s secret basement just because we normally don’t know much about it. But in the same way, people also have some positive fantasy about things, for example, aurora is often mentioned as divine thing. What really make the difference between these two dramatic biases?
I really really enjoyed this piece! When I was looking through the other posts, this one caught my eye the most because I’m very fond of everything that went into WWII. Just like most people above, too, I had never heard of this extraordinary belief before. I didn’t think Germany paid any attention to Antarctica during the war! I also found the claim that Germany signed a treaty just to cover up their underground caverns to be so interesting! It seems like a smart thing to do if you think about it because no one really trekked around Antarctica (I feel like). This would be the perfect cover up for not only Germany, but for other countries as well! But, alas, I don’t believe Germany thought in that kind of advanced way at the time. They were also performing research through the Holocaust, which has been thoroughly documented by the living prisoners who survived it. Taking research to another country and having to use more man power just to build these caverns sounds pretty counter-productive. Thank you for your post!
Thanks for covering this topic – it was a really enjoyable read. I like how you paired the extraordinary beliefs here, like how being a part of the flat earth community would make this particular idea much more palatable. There is always some amount of conspiracy surrounding the deaths of famous or notorious figures (especially if the bodies aren’t seen like with Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden). I wonder which countries Hitler and the Nazis do *not* supposedly have secret bases in. It certainly makes sense with the barren landscape and harshness associated with the continent.
I have actually never heard this theory, but I find it interesting considering I have studied World War II a lot. I think this is probably one of the more extreme conspiracies about war that I have ever heard. The Nazis were still trying to conquer Europe, let alone try to explore other continents. A logical explanation that you pointed out was that there is no evidence that Germany ever went to Antartica or had an Antartic base. It does make sense that Antartica is a lesser researched continent, so people have an easier time believing that theory.
But here’s the real question: Which side of the ice wall (a la Flat Earth Society) are the bunkers on? And wouldn’t the NASA guards have stopped them? Or is it the Nazis that built the ice wall? Like the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop, the world may never know!
There are so many Nazi conspiracy theories out there. Ideas that the nazi’s have hidden bunkers all over. Its interesting to think that people believe that the nazi’s built bunkers on Antartica. While its seems hard to believe looking at how much it would seem to cost to get people down to Antartica and all of the materials to build these bunkers, it would be a good location. Antartica is largely unexplored, so it would be a good place to hide, but there is just no evidence to support it. Did you come upon any “images” of these bunkers in your research?
Nope, no pictures! I even read an article about how a russian team went to Antarctica and found these german bunkers. according to the article, they found bunkers, and weapons, and tons of other stuff. Unfortunately there were no pictures of the bunkers or these “discovered” objects, so I think that article only helped to discredit this theory.
Never heard that before. But it’s interesting that you mention about the “whole community”.It’s not a single belief, but one ring of the chain for similar beliefs.
Like others, I have never heard of this wilddddd theory, however I was just wondering–what would the Nazis have to gain from an underground bunker in Antarctica? The continent is virtually closed off from others in the world, and the amount of supplies and communication one would need to survive, virtually undetected…this theory is just mad, but super interesting! I would also love to see how believers would side with the idea of climate change affecting the two Antarctic Ice Sheets–and the Nazi’s apparent underground bunker. Great post!
I also believe that the Nazi is still hiding in somewhere. But I have never thought they will live in the bunker of Antarctica. The environment in Antarctica is really bad, and it’s definitely hard to build a bunker there. It will be a big cost to build such a large bunker in Antarctica and their food supply is also a big problem. Most of their food should be transported from the mainland and it must cause doubt to the large amount of the food everytime.